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Prep Softball: Boyle beats Mercer 8-5 for first 12th Region softball championshi

By HAL MORRIS
[email]hmorris@amnews.com[/email]
11:26 a.m. EDT, May 31, 2012

For once, it appeared Boyle County was going to get an easy victory in the regional tournament.
The Rebels scored the first six runs in Wednesday’s 12th Region Tournament final against Mercer County, then saw the Titans rally before holding on for an 8-5 win at Millennium Park that gave Boyle its first regional softball title.
“It’s almost like a dream, like it’s not happening,” said senior KK Davis, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and scored two runs.
Boyle (30-11) will play the 8th Region champion June 7 at the state tournament in Owensboro. Oldham County and Walton-Verona play for the 8th Region title tonight at South Oldham.
The Rebels jumped on Mercer pitcher Tabby Shewmaker early and led 6-0 after three innings. But Mercer (30-8) returned the favor with five runs in the bottom of the third off Elysse Petrie before Hannah Miniard came in to get out of the jam, then bottled up the Titans’ offense from there.
Boyle’s offense had everything going right early.
Sammi Key’s triple down the right-field line in the second scored Davis, who had singled, as the Rebels took an early 1-0 lead before exploding for five runs in the third.
Lauren Richards drew a one-out walk to open that inning. Miniard legged out a two-out infield single, then Danielle Mason singled to center, scoring Richards. The ball got away from Megan Osbourn in center field, and Miniard also came in to score. Mason then scored on Davis’ single up the middle for a 4-0 lead. Lindsey Edwards singled in Davis, and Key walked and later scored on Amy Woolum’s single as the Rebels opened a 6-0 lead.
“I think we finally settled down and relaxed. And Tabby’s a great pitcher, so we were just looking for our pitch and making her throw it,” Mason said. “I was seeing a fastball and then she was trying to throw me high, and then I finally got the pitch I wanted and drove it up the middle.
“It’s hard to get them down like that, so it was huge to get those six runs on them.”
Mercer coach Stephen Lyons said his team just did not make the plays early to avoid that big deficit.
“You know it’s going to be a game of runs, and this game people that should have made plays didn’t make plays,” he said. “And we all know that errors will kill you.”
But the veteran Titans stormed back to cut the led to one run in the bottom of the third inning.
Brittany Gibson and Ashley Harley led off the inning with singles and Taylor Schroeder walked to load the bases for Mercer. Megan Hilbert, who was 3 for 4 on the night, drilled a double to score Gibson and Harley.
Jordan Harley then delivered another double down the left-field line to score Schroeder and Hilbert and trim the lead to 6-4 with no outs. Petrie got Shewmaker and Osbourn out but walked Stacia Bryant, and Taylor Readnower slapped a single up the middle to score Jordan Harley to make it 6-5 and drive Petrie from the game.
“The thing I was most proud of is our team made a great comeback, it was just a little too short,” Lyons said. “But I was really proud of their effort. You played well, you gave it everything you had, but we just didn’t make the adjustment when Miniard came in.”
Miniard struck out Gibson to end the inning and allowed just a two hits the rest of the way, striking out eight in all.
Boyle coach Brian Deem said he initially went with Petrie, who picked up the win, since she was the unknown factor of the Rebels’ staff against Mercer, which didn’t face her in two one-run losses to Boyle in the regular season.
“Who they hadn’t seen is Elysse, and Elysse has the most movement. So I rolled the dice there, and hats off to Mercer. They did a great job adjusting to it and getting right back in the ballgame,” Deem said.
“The question was how long do I go with it, and I was trying to get out of the inning, and when they got the last base hit up the middle and cut it to one, I had to get somebody in. And I went with my gut feeling, and I wanted to bring Hannah in because I felt like KK is our best first baseman, and I wanted our best first baseman to be over there.”
Boyle added a couple of insurance runs in the fourth inning. Richards reached on a error, and Heather Hasty singled to center the took second on a throw home. Miniard drove in Richards and courtesy runner Shelby Bishop with a single to center to push the lead to 8-5.
This was Deem’s second regional title of the year, having led Boyle’s girls soccer team to the 15th Region title last fall.
“They’re all different, the soccer one was different. The soccer one, we were expected to win. This one, we came out of the blue, and we haven’t had much respect from the state yet. Hopefully we can earn some,”¿he said.
Mercer’s Lyons said his players had nothing to hang their heads about.
“We have set every school record I could think of. We got 30 wins, we got our first district championship, we’re in the regional finals, we’re just a couple of plays away from going to Owensboro,” he said.
“The thing I’m most proud of is I’ve gotten to be with a group of girls and gotten to watch them grow up over the years, and watching them become good softball players, but along the way knowing they’re good people, too.”

12th Region Tournament
At Millennium Park
Championship
Boyle County 015 200 0 — 8 9 0
Mercer County 005 000 0 — 5 7 2
Elysse Petrie, Hannah Miniard (3) and Heather Hasty. Tabby Shewmaker and Ashley Harley. W—Petrie. L—Shewmaker. 2B—Megan Hilbert (MC), Jordan Harley (MC). 3B—Sammie Key (BC).

http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews/spor...7197.story

All-Tournament Team